


"i'd call it my spidey sense."

by jjml__co (sunstealer)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Kinda?, Light Angst, M/M, lapslock, spider-man/deadpool - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-05-30 11:04:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15095384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunstealer/pseuds/jjml__co
Summary: in an alternate universe, na jaemin, 17, lives a two sided life— during the day he bustles around as a student who struggles to keep up with homework and life itself, but at night he swings around the city, making sure no harm befalls its precious citizens.lee jeno, 18, lives a similar life, except at night he travels on foot, preferring to work in the dark (literally) where he can easily take criminals out with his sharpkatanasmoves and quickwitreflexes.they live their nights watching out for any potential threats to the city, but what they fail to realize is that fate's got a little more planned for them besides their usual team-ups.orjaemin is secretly spider-man, jeno is secretly deadpool, and they're bothsecretlypining after each other. simple as that.





	1. night 17

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Português brasileiro available: ["i'd call it my spidey sense."](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17515898) by [jaemms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaemms/pseuds/jaemms)



> you shouldn't take this seriously. _i myself_ don't take this seriously.  
>  also this is my first work on here and uh, updates are gonna be wonky!

the story cuts in just as our friendly neighborhood spider-man and the merc with a mouth have dinner on the rooftop of a building that overlooks the city, dinner meaning, a couple of warm burritos and ice cold sodas.

there isn't a proper start to this story, just like how life never _had_  a definite start. from the moment you were born, you've already been thrown into this flowing, never-ending cycle. your life didn't start. it just cut in someone else's, and theirs cut in someone else's, and it goes on.

jeno thinks he must've done something wonderful in his past life for him to be lucky enough to cut into this specific time and place, to be where he is now, to be seeing what he's seeing.

that being na jaemin.

i mean, not that he would know that. to him, the figure seated beside him munching on burritos would no other be than spider-man, with his mask pulled up over his nose, just enough to reveal the brilliant smile he had on his face as he ate.

jeno doesn't realize how long he's been staring at the way spider-man's lips quirk up on its corners, how pink they are, and how they're... saying his name?

the mercenary snaps out of his reverie just in time to hear spider-man ask if he had anything on his face. jeno looks up into his eyes to say that _no, you're good_ but his answer dies down in his throat as his eyes drift back down to spidey's tongue swiping at his lips.

it's almost as if he's mocking jeno. like he knows how much jeno wants to pull him in and press his lips against his. like he's _testing_ him to see if jeno would make a move.

he wets his lips again, and it's driving jeno _crazier._

he swears at this point spidey's just playing with him. for sure he's noticed how jeno had left his question unanswered, choosing to gape at his mouth instead of replying _like a normal person would._

jeno thinks maybe he wasn't so lucky in the first place when spider-man softly laughs and calls him out, saying, "you're stealing my habit."

the merc short circuits.

 _what did he mean, stealing my habit,_ his mind screams. _does he_ — _oh god_ — _does he stare at_ my _lips too?_ it's too much. too much for jeno and his 2 brain cells to handle, so he abruptly gets up, surprising spidey, and announces, "i gotta go." before throwing himself off the side of the building.

luckily he lands in a dumpster filled with soft, cushioning bags of garbage. that doesn't change the fact that he ends up breaking a few bones due to him dropping from that height though, but jeno thinks it's alright. it gives him time to rethink his life decisions as his body heals itself.

meanwhile, up on the rooftop, spidey, no, _jaemin_ , sits staring at where jeno just used to be before he'd gone and panicked.

he blinks at the empty space for a few seconds before breaking out into a giddy smile. _cute jeno with his cute gay panicking and his cute eye smile_ , he thinks. he doesn't really worry much because he knows jeno can heal pretty quickly, so he cleans their mess up before throwing the trash away in a nearby bin.

jaemin hesitates while pulling his mask over his mouth, trying to decide whether or not he should actually worry about jeno and check up on him, and starts walking to the edge of the building where jeno had jumped off. he stops a few inches away, shaking his head. _jeno's alright_ , he decides. _i should just go home._  

as jaemin swings away from the building towards his apartment complex, he feels a pair of eyes staring at him from below, as sketchy as that sounds, but he feels completely safe.

 

* * *

 

jeno sighs as he eyes spidey swinging off into the distance.

"you've made a complete fool of yourself once again, lee jeno." he mutters to himself, and he makes a move to hit his head with his fist to berate himself for his stupidity, but he seems to have forgotten that he'd broken his arm from the fall.

a small cry of pain rings out on the empty streets, followed by a long string of "stupid, stupid, stupid!"

 


	2. night 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the story continues!  
> jaemin's head is suddenly filled with worry, and jeno's beating himself up for being an embarrassing piece of shit.  
> you've tuned in to such an eventful night! lucky you.

the metal creaks as feet land on the emergency escape at the side of the apartment building, and a hand reaches and opens the window from the outside. jaemin slowly steps inside, careful not to make any loud noises so as to not wake anyone up because they had terribly thin walls, and staying mindful of his surroundings. what he doesn't notice, however, is that the window's falling shut and—

"christ, _ow._ " jaemin yelps, rubbing his butt as he stumbles into his apartment from the sheer force of the goddamn window. well, there goes the silence. "i need to get that window fixed..." he mumbles, and shoots a web at the light switch to turn it on.

it doesn't work. jaemin's not even sure if his web hit its target.

sighing, he takes his mask off and carefully makes his way to the light switch on the other side of the room, thinking that if his roommate were there, he'd be laughing his ass off at jaemin's failed attempt.

 _if._ if his roommate even _knew_ he was spider-man. which he didn't. which disappointed and relieved jaemin at the same time, and he can't really tell which one he feels more. yeah, jaemin wants his roommate to know, but at the same time he doesn't? _does that make sense?_

as jaemin walks over to his bedroom, he sees that his roommate's bedroom door is open and he can't help but sneak a peek inside. he smiles at the numerous amount of spider-man posters up on the wall, posters of _him_ up on his roommates wall. it makes jaemin want to come clean even more.

sure, he's been in there before, and he's seen those posters. he's definitely blushed a couple of times listening to his roommate ramble on about how amazing he— _spider-man_ is, how he's his hero, and how he kinda wants to be like him in his own way.

it makes jaemin's heart melt.

ever since he found out his roommate was an avid fan of _him_ , he's been trying to drop hints, and from then on, he's been patiently waiting for his ~~dumb~~ roommate to put two and two together and figure out that the hero he idolizes has been living with him this entire time.

jaemin doesn't know why he doesn't just straight up tell him, and he's sure, somewhere in the universe, someone's watching his life unfold and is wondering the same thing too.

 _maybe i'm just as dumb as him_ , jaemin thinks. _nevermind, no. i'm not. i hope._

he groans, finally peeling his suit off his body and slipping into looser, much more comfortable clothes, a.k.a. his pajamas. jaemin throws his hero get-up in a drawer and looks at himself in the mirror.

"you know exactly why you can't just tell him," he says, nodding to affirm himself. "he has to find out on his own."

jaemin _knows_ his roommate, alright? he knows him. he knows that if he tells him face to face, it's not only going to be an _oh-my-god-my-roommates-a-crime-fighting-hero_ kind of reaction. he knows it's going to mess his roommate's head up— _even more,_ a voice in the back of jaemin's head adds.

at least that's what he thinks. but then jaemin's face falls as the doubt comes washing over him.

he's scared he isn't making the right decision. he's scared that if he keeps putting this off, it's going to build up and cause an even bigger reaction and it won't just stay lowkey like he hopes it does.

he's scared he's going to end up ruining their relationship, their friendship. god, jaemin _hopes_ his decision to keep quiet about his secret identity doesn't end up biting him in the butt like that goddamn window did. not that the window _bit_ him but— ugh. jaemin's going to lose his mind overthinking about this.

the hair all over jaemin's body suddenly stand. _my spidey senses are tingling_ , he thinks, and that only means one thing.

jaemin's roommate was back.

 

* * *

  

jeno trudges home dejectedly, still thinking about what had happened earlier that night. _god, can i please just forget what happened?_ he groans. _christ, he probably thinks i'd rather be hanging out in a dumpster than with him._

his bones may have healed but his dignity hasn't.

"why am i so stupid?" he cries into his hands. well, _fake_ cries. kinda the same thing.

"why can't i just act normal around him?" jeno sighs. _well, jeno,_ his mind supplies, _you've had the biggest, gayest crush on him for the_ longest _time. it's understandable for you to fail as a normal, functional, human being._

jeno frowns. "2 years isn't a very long time, and i'm perfectly capable of functioning as a human being, thank you very much!"

 _you still fail to be normal though._ he scoffs. "living as an anti-hero at night doesn't really fall under the _normal_ category, don't you think?" the voice in his head snorts, and jeno now realizes it sounds an awful lot like spidey.

 _i'm talking about how you're talking to_ yourself _, jeno._   _it's a miracle your roommate hasn't kicked you out for being weird yet._ and that successfully makes jeno stop in his tracks, only to see how he's stopped in front of his apartment building.

 _at least one good thing came out of that talk,_ jeno thinks, not the voice in his head. honestly _fuck_ that voice. it may have sounded like spidey but that was _not_ him.

as he walks up 6 flights of stairs to get to his floor ("the elevator _still_ doesn't work? are you kidding me?"), he makes sure to check if there was any... _remainder_ from his time in the dumpster. luckily, he doesn't find nor smell any on him, so he tries to focus on not making his backpack, which had his suit inside, come near any noses on the way, if there were any.

as soon as he arrives at his apartment, he reaches for his bag to get his keys and hears shuffling coming from behind the door. jeno smiles absentmindedly, wondering what his roommate was up to now. as soon as he swings his bag in front of him however, he catches a whiff of that _sweet_ , sweet garbage smell. he winces. maybe he should just knock.

and so he does. while fixing his clothes and making sure the bag doesn't emit any stench, his mind wanders a bit. _my roommate isn't that mean to kick me out for talking to myself, right?_ he thinks. thankfully, nobody answers.

he looks up just as his roommate opens the door and gives him a warm smile. jeno smiles back, eyes forming into crescents, and regrets starting to be forgotten as he takes in the sight before him for the second time that night.

"welcome home." his roommate says, beaming, and jeno finds his answer in that smile.

that trademark na jaemin smile.


	3. night 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jaemin hopes jeno can _figure it out_ already, but jeno only has one (1) working braincell and he can't see that the guy he likes is right there in front of him, waving a red flag. jeno thinks the voice in his head isn't helping one bit.  
>  ~~it actually is.~~

jeno can't get rid of the feeling that he's known jaemin even before they became roommates 2 and a half weeks ago. as he walks in their shared apartment, the image of jaemin's smile stays in his head.

the more he mulls over that smile, the more his mind pushes an image of _spidey's_ smile into his head. the corners of jeno's lips turn down just a little and he throws his whole backpack into the laundry basket distractedly on the way to the couch. he catches jaemin giving him a questioning look, glancing at his bag, so he gives him a tight lipped smile.

"don't ask." and with that he crashes on the couch, hearing his roommate softly chuckle before sitting down on the desk chair and typing away on his laptop. jeno stares up at the ceiling as he listens to the keyboard keys clacking. seems like it's a quiet night, and he wishes it were that peaceful inside his head.

his mind involuntarily takes the image of spidey's smile out of his mental folder and forces him to look at it. jeno frowns again because he feels like he should know _why_ there's a feeling he can't shake off, like he _should_ know who spidey is under that mask, because that smile is way too familiar and _way_ too pretty to forget, but he's oblivious, okay?

it's like jeno's seemingly separate mind knows more than he does. _fuck, that doesn't even make any sense,_ he thinks, and his mind shoves an image of jaemin's smile in his brain in reply. _look at it,_ the voice in his head tells him, _look at it real close._

jeno sighs out loud, getting tired of his own mind, and the sound prompts jaemin to glance at him. "rough night?" he asks, and "ugh." jeno eloquently answers.

jaemin laughs and focuses back on his laptop. "i'll take that as a yes." and an awkward silence creeps in after a few seconds, for jeno at least, so he sits up and drapes an elbow over the back of the couch to look at his roommate.

"i think i embarrassed myself in front of the guy i like." jeno quietly says, and watches as jaemin stops typing and raises an eyebrow at him. "you like someone?"

jeno blushes. hearing that from his roommate, who he kind of has a crush on as well, makes his delusional brain think that jaemin might be jealous. _that's highly impossible, though._ he gingerly scratches his neck. "uh... yeah, at least, i think i like him." and that causes jaemin to swivel in his desk chair to look at him, completely focusing on jeno instead of his homework.

"do you like him enough to ask him out?" he asks, and jeno chokes at that. _see? highly impossible._ as he takes his time to recover and stop panicking over the mere _thought_ of him asking spidey out, jeno completely misses how jaemin's lips quirk up on its corners just like spidey's do.

when jeno finally settles, he gives his roommate a sad, sheepish look. " _i_ do, but i don't think _he_ likes me that way."

"you'd be surprised." the words slip out of jaemin's mouth and jeno doesn't think he even realizes what he just said. _what the fuck what the fuck what the_ fuck _does that_ mean _,_ he mentally screams.

"... what?"

"nothing." jaemin quickly says, and he clears his throat. "anyways. i think you should go for it." now it was jeno's turn to raise his eyebrows. "i... i don't want to make myself look like a fool in front of him. again. for the millionth time."

his roommate laughs, and jeno catches himself think of spidey as he hears it. _what._

"i think he'll find you cute even when you do, jen. be it the thousandth or millionth time, whatever. i actually don't think you can embarrass yourself in way that'll get him to _not_ like you." jaemin sounds so sure of himself, and it makes jeno want to believe in him because he makes those words sound like they came from spidey himself.

 _he literally sounds like spidey too. maybe he_ is— jeno mentally slaps himself before he could finish that sentence. there's no _way_ jaemin could be spider-man. no fucking way. there's a 0.01% chance of that happening, and jeno would rather repeatedly jump off a bridge than have that be true. do you know how many times he's proclaimed his love for spider-man to jaemin? exactly. _too many times in a span of 2 weeks._

"how are you so sure the guy i like likes me back?" jeno asks as he calms down from his mini crisis, and he rests his chin on his arm, raising an eyebrow. jaemin smiles, his eyes twinkling, and jeno feels his stomach twist.

"i'd call it my spidey sense."

and the little shit turns back to his laptop and continues typing his homework down like what he just said didn't make jeno's world stop turning. _it was a joke. he made a spidey joke, jeno. calm down,_ he thinks, but his heart's beating too fast, and his mind's running at a hundred miles per fucking _minute._

no matter how much he tries to convince himself that jaemin ~~hopefully~~ doesn't actually have a spidey sense, nothing changes the fact that jeno starts to consider that 0.01%.

 

* * *

 

jaemin looks at the clock on the wall and sighs. it's 2 am.

it's been almost 3 hours since he's had that talk with jeno, and jaemin blames it for distracting him. even after the conversation ended, it stayed stuck in jaemin's mind and so he couldn't focus on his homework, which could've been finished in an hour. instead it took him _3_ hours.

jaemin rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands. with homework on top of hero business and his photography job at the daily bugle (which, by the way, sucked _ass_. but a job's a job, and jaemin needs the money), he really wasn't getting enough sleep. he thought that spider bite gave him enhanced endurance, where was it when he needed it most?

maybe his exhaustion could explain how he kind of purposefully exposed himself by talking about his spidey sense. _jeno thought that was joke, right? a good 'ole little spidey joke._ jeno would appreciate that, so jaemin hoped he was good. still, he slightly regret saying it.

sighing, jaemin rests his head on his closed laptop, his eyes falling shut and arms hanging limply at his sides. "jeno won't figure anything out if i don't give him any hints, would he? ... yeah. that's it." and as if he were agreeing, jeno snores from the couch, and jaemin cracks into an amused grin, shoulders shaking a little as he silently laughed.

after he composes himself, he gets up from the desk and slowly walks over to the couch, seeing his roommate asleep and curled up in on himself. jaemin smiles fondly, and quickly but carefully walks into his own room and takes one of his blankets (he had two more anyways. jaemin liked to keep warm). he crouches down next to jeno and gently drapes it over him. as he does, his eyes drift to jeno's sleeping face. _he looks like an angel_ , he thinks.

jaemin cautiously brings a hand up and lightly runs it through jeno's hair, making sure not to wake him up. "i hope you understand, jen. i want you to know as much as i'm sure _you_ do." he softly says. "you'll figure it out one day. you're bound to, i'll make sure of it." and jaemin presses a chaste kiss to jeno's head.

"good night, deadpool." jaemin smiles, and it's bittersweet. "i wish you realized your hero was right here with you this whole time."


	4. day 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jeno and jaemin are finally getting somewhere. kind of?

when jaemin wakes up the next morning for class, he finds jeno still fast asleep on the couch, his hair a mess, and half the blanket on the floor.

he smiles to himself, looking fondly at the sight. jaemin wants to wrap jeno up in his arms and lay with him the whole day, maybe watching tv, ordering take-out, grinning at each other like lovesick fools, the whole whipped shebang, but jaemin knows that would only remain a fantasy. at least until jeno knows his secret.

as jaemin turns to walk to the kitchen to whip something up for jeno before he leaves, he catches sight of the web on the wall and is reminded of his failed attempt to turn the lights on. biting his lip, he hurriedly rips the web off and stuffs it deep into the trash bin, washing his hands in the kitchen sink after. "that could've been a disaster." he exhales.

"what could've been a disaster?" jeno groggily asks from the couch, and jaemin feels his lips tugging at the corners.

"it's nothing." he lies. "you want pancakes for breakfast, jen?" jaemin asks in return, turning around and leaning on the counter. he watches jeno blink himself awake, sluggishly gathering the blanket into his arms. _cute,_ jaemin remarks internally, _how is he always so cute?_

jeno hums once he's finally registered the question in his head. "how'd you know i wanted pancakes?"

snorting, jaemin turns around and grabs a pan, along with some pancake mix from the cupboard. "i was asking, but i guess that's a yes." and as he mixes the pancake mix in a bowl with water, he feels jeno coming up from behind him and instinctively moves to make room for him in their tiny kitchen.

they work in comfortable silence for the next couple of minutes, until jaemin starts humming, one hand on his waist, the other flipping a pancake with a spatula. beside him, jeno's washing the dishes and utensils they've used, nodding along to the tune jaemin is humming.

when the last pancake is placed on the stack, jaemin realizes how domestic they must've looked, bustling around in their kitchen, wordlessly passing stuff around, working in harmony. then he realizes why they work so well together.

they're spider-man and deadpool, after all.

they've worked together before, just never like this. instead of cooking breakfast and washing the dishes, they've saved numerous citizens from being robbed, sent a few criminals to jail, and have even fought a couple of thugs, all the while cracking jokes, and spewing out witty one-liners. but besides the violence and all that action, jaemin thinks there isn't much of a difference between _jaemin and jeno_ and _spider-man and deadpool._

as their hero personas, they're good buddies, they get along without a hitch. they know how the other acts, how they think in a fight. jaemin chastises jeno, making sure he only _injures_ the baddie, not kill. they've been like that for the past year, ever since jeno, no— _deadpool_ , rather, came up to spider-man one night, telling him he was his hero, and asking him how he could be more like him.

and that alone forged a team-up "worthy enough to be written in history books," in jeno's words.

jaemin snaps back to the present, and realizes how he'd ended up staring at the empty fruit bowl in the middle of the dining table. his eyes shift and land on jeno's figure, hunched over the plate of pancakes. strangely wanting to remain lost in his thoughts, jaemin quietly excuses himself and makes his way into the bathroom, passing by a slightly confused jeno, shirt stained with maple syrup.

as soon as jaemin closes the door, he sighs and leans against it. maybe the thought of letting jeno know about his secret was getting to him. after all, he already knew jeno's.

about a month into their nightly team-ups, jeno had showed up without a mask on, and that was the first time jaemin has ever doubted his spidey sense. a face that gorgeous deserved a warning beforehand to be gazed upon. then jeno smiled, and stretched a hand out, saying he thought it was about time for him to let _spider-man_ know about his civilian identity, to which jaemin responded with a hesitant handshake, and an even more hesitant "hello, lee jeno."

jaemin had later told jeno it was dangerous for him to be walking around in his suit unmasked, but jeno replied with a small smile, saying he didn't have anyone to lose, and didn't care if anyone knew who deadpool was under that mask. "they can't kill me, anyways." he had said. he then told jaemin that it was okay if he didn't feel comfortable taking his mask off around him yet, that he understood.

"i'm sure you have plenty of people you care about, spidey. i respect that." jeno said.

 _yeah, and you're on that list of people too,_ jaemin wanted to reply.

11 or so months later, jaemin's opening the door to let his new roommate in, and almost passes out right on the spot, because there standing before him was _lee jeno_ , deadpool unmasked. and 2 and a half weeks later, jaemin's leaning against the bathroom door, questioning why fate had to do this to him, with said new roommate eating pancakes right outside the door.

jaemin puts his head in his hands, and he feels like bawling his eyes out. he really should just tell jeno. why can't he just do that?

the thing is, jaemin's asked himself that a million times over the past 2 weeks. with their civilian lives now so close together, jeno was bound to find out anyways. so _why_ does he have to let _jeno_ find out on his own, _why_ in the _motherfuck_ can't jaemin just say those two simple words and get it all over with?

a part of jaemin's head believes jeno's mind is only getting noisier with each minute he spends not knowing who jaemin, who _spider-man_ is, and another part believes that _not_ telling jeno will let his mind stay as peaceful as it can be.

honestly, jaemin's just worried for his roommate's sanity. he knows that jeno has those voices in his head, he's talked about them once, and jaemin's only trying to save him from those. he really wants to believe that he is. because of that, jaemin's constantly debating with himself, wondering whether the hints he's leaving are doing more good than bad.

jaemin sighs. _another day with no definite answer,_ he thinks, _another day of me slowly driving myself insane._

"just give me a clear sign, let me come to a decision _please_." he pleads to no one in particular, and looks up, resting his head on the door. the clock catches his eye, and the time makes jaemin shoot up and almost shower with his clothes on.

"crap, i'm going to be late!"

 

* * *

 

the day passes by in a flash. before he knows it, jeno's afternoon classes are over, and he's watching the yellow and pink bleed out of the sky, and watching the blue seep in. jeno thinks about his morning, and how his roommate had left in such a hurry after spending too long in the bathroom. jaemin barely said goodbye before slamming the door and leaving jeno in the silence of their apartment.

it was a weird morning, but the breakfast was incredible. jeno swears he could eat jaemin's pancakes all day and never get tired of it.

... that sounded kinda wrong.

jeno shakes his head and swings his legs back and forth as they're hanging over the side of the building, waiting for spidey to arrive. he was late, and jeno's just about to call him on his burner phone to tell him that _the food's getting cold, webs, where the hell are you,_ when spidey gracefully lands (read: _stumbles_ ) onto the building, startling jeno.

"hey, sorry i'm late." he pants, plopping down beside jeno, swinging his legs over the edge and leaning back on his hands. "i had some matters to attend to. 's it okay if we sit here a little longer? i gotta—" he inhales deeply, "i gotta catch my breath."

jeno flushes, thankful he decided to wear his mask today, because a hot and bothered spidey sounded— _wait, no_ — an out of breath and apologetic spidey sounded _cute_ , for some reason.

"sure, webs." jeno replies, trying to sound casual. "i was— uh, i was actually hoping we could eat dinner first before we start the patrol?" he grabs the bag of chinese takeout and backs away from the edge, sitting to face spidey instead. "i know we usually eat once we're done for the night but," he smiles, before realizing spidey couldn't see that through the mask, "i wanted to talk to you about something."

jeno thinks he vaguely hears spidey mutter " _oh god_ ," but maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him again.

spidey turns to face him too, mimicking his position. "what do you wanna talk about, jen?" and jeno pauses for a second, thinking about how his roommate jaemin calls him jen but then quickly snaps out of it.

"well," jeno starts, opening a box of fried rice. "someone told me some good advice recently, if that even was advice, and it helped me make my mind up." he sees spidey shakily take the other box of fried rice, and jeno's relieved he seems just as nervous as he is.

spidey clears his throat. "make... make your mind up about what?" he asks, just holding the box with both hands, looking straight into jeno's eyes.

jeno takes a deep breath before setting his fried rice down, and reaches behind his neck to take his mask off despite being sure his face was redder than before. he stares back into spidey's eyes as he slowly takes his hand in his, pausing for a second, listening for any comments the voices in his head must've made, but there were none.

the merc takes that as a good sign and continues. "it helped me make my mind up about you."

he notices spidey's grip tightening on his box of fried rice. "... what do you mean, jeno?" and jeno thinks spidey's words sounded equal parts hopeful and... afraid? jeno wonders if that was a bad thing.

"i..."

spidey leans forward slightly, anticipating, questioning. "you...?"

"... i want to take you out on a date." jeno breathes. "will you let me do that?"

spidey's jaw drops.


	5. night 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a new player [ _renjun_ ] has joined the game! in other news, jeno gets dumped before anything even happens, and jaemin seeks advice from a wise, young master of many braincells. a true intellectual.

jeno lies awake that night. he can't sleep, not when his mind refuses to let him live and move on from spider-man's rejection.

yes, you read that right. _rejection._ spider-man rejected jeno's offer to take him out on a date.

it wasn't a matter of sexuality, _oh no_ , they both knew neither one of them was straight, but rather a matter of _safety_. for spider-man's civilian self and jeno's sanity, not that spidey had said that.

what he _did_ say was, "oh... _jen._ " with that tone in his voice, like he was sorry, like jeno just asked the dumbest question in the world, and just like that, jeno _knew_.

he wasn't going to be taking his hero out on a date. not now, not ever.

spidey had tried to explain, he wasn't heartless after all, and jeno heard him out. well, after spidey webbed him to the floor because jeno had tried to jump off the building again out of shame. but there jeno was, stuck in a cocoon of his crush's webbing, when all he wanted to do was go home and cry into a tub of ice cream in his room. he didn't need his roommate to see him like that.

jeno had stayed still and quiet while spidey reasoned with him, it wasn't like he could do anything else given that the web had covered his limbs and mouth. and at present, jeno now lays in his bed, an empty tub of ice cream laying by his side. he flinches at the memory as he recalls what spidey had said.

"i care for you, jen, i need to get that clear first. i really do." he sat down next to jeno's head, "and it's because of that i can't—" spidey sighed. "i'm sorry, jen. i just— if i could make you understand, i _would_ but... i don't even know how myself—"

the merc had cut him off, trying to speak, but his voice was too muffled by the web. biting his lip, spidey removed the webbing from his mouth and gestured for him to continue. "what are you trying to get at, webs?" jeno asked.

with his shoulders slumped, jeno had never seen his hero look so... defeated. and it was because of _him._ why did _he_ look sadder than jeno felt? "i'm saying my head's not in the right place yet, jen. there's a lot of decisions left to be made, and i'm nowhere near making one... god—" he dropped his head into his hands for the second time that day (not that they knew that.)

"i'm sorry jeno, i'm just— trying to save you from my current mess." then he lifted his head up and stared right into jeno's eyes. "just—  don't worry about it, alright? i'll make it up to you. one day i'll make you understand. i promise, jen."

the rest of the night passed by pretty quickly after that fiasco. they had wordlessly agreed to pretend like nothing happened, at least for the meantime and until spidey fulfills his promise, and had continued eating their chinese take-out, later going on their nightly patrol. then jeno had arrived home and that's when he broke, devouring a whole tub of ice cream by himself.

there, all caught up?

jaemin wasn't home that night, much to jeno's relief. he texted jeno while he waited for spidey to come back from the porta potty ("heroes need to use the bathroom too! i don't get why they don't show that in the movies.") apparently jaemin was going to spend the night at a friend's, _injunnie's_ , whoever that was, because they needed to finish a project they had together.

 _sweet,_ jeno texted back, _i get the apartment all to myself ^-^_

 _don't go throwing a party while i'm gone jen,_ his roommate replied.

"wouldn't dream of it." jeno had mumbled. "gonna be too busy being sad anyways." and that's exactly what he did. or, exactly what he was _still_ doing.

"don't worry about it? how could i _not_ worry about it?" jeno mutters to himself, and in an attempt to flail out of frustration, accidentally knocks the empty tub of ice cream down, the spoon clattering loudly, cutting through the silence.

when the quiet comes back, jeno sighs, curling into himself, and decides to try and fall asleep.

"that's so fucking stupid."

 

* * *

 

"i'm so fucking stupid."

renjun hummed, not even bothering to look up from his phone. "ain't that the truth."

"wha— i came to you for moral support injunnie. tell me what i'm doing is the right thing." jaemin says, pouting.

they were currently in renjun's house, as said in the text jaemin sent to jeno, _that_ part was true, but the part about working on something? not so much. honestly, jaemin just wanted to give jeno (and himself) some space, after what _he_ did. jaemin hopes jeno wasn't blaming himself for what had happened. all the blame should go to _him_.

renjun rolls his eyes. "no, you came to me to avoid confronting your roommate slash partner after you flat out rejected him."

"i didn't—"

" _then_ you proceed to leave him by himself in your shared apartment when he _clearly_ needs a distraction from said rejection." renjun finally looks up. "didn't you say you cared for him?"

jaemin sighs in exasperation. "i do, jun, that's exactly _why_ i can't be there right now. i'd probably just— end up reminding him of spider-man the whole night or something."

renjun raises an eyebrow. "isn't that what you wanted to do so he could _finally_ figure out who you are?"

"yeah, but—"

"your intentions are all over the place, jaemin." and jaemin almost sobs right then and there from pure frustration.

"this is why i need you, injunnie! _tell me what to do._ " jaemin pleads, grabbing renjun's shoulders and looking into his eyes.

renjun gives him a blank look and shakes his hands off his shoulders, putting his phone down. "alright."

jaemin beams but the smile quickly slips off his face as he watches renjun slip into his bed. then, with his finger on the light switch beside him, says "leave."

the room plunges into darkness and jaemin sighs.

"god damn it, injun." knowing there wasn't much he could do after renjun had made his command to him _oh so clear_ , jaemin opens the window and steps out. he gently closes it behind him, not wanting to feel renjun's wrath for being loud, and puts his mask on, reluctantly swinging home shortly after.

renjun smiles to himself once jaemin's gone. "you can thank me later, nana."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah so renjun knows about jaemin and jeno uwu  
> a little background for you, he found out about jaemin's secret identity when he suspiciously excused himself after hearing the news of a fire break out in the city while hanging out at renjun's place. jaemin had given a flimsy excuse like "i just remembered i had to water my cacti they're really dry" and rushed out the room, pulling a mysterious red cloth out of his pocket. renjun wasn't stupid, he put two and two together immediately.  
> as for jeno however, renjun found out about his secret because of jaemin constantly talking about him. he was bound to slip up and use jeno's real name, and one day he finally did. go figure.


	6. night 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jeno and jaemin share one (1) braincell combined, that's why they work so well together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so so sorry i've kept you guys waiting :( (if any of you _were_ waiting for this to update) school just started and i didn't get to write a chapter aaa this one's kinda long though? i think?? i hope it is???? ah well it's longer than the other chapters so i hope you enjoy it at least ;;;

jaemin returns home to sniffling.

as he carefully sneaks into his room, he hears sniffles over from jeno's.

he stops in his tracks.

he won't lie, he knows fully well that _he's_ the reason why jeno's crying. jaemin starts to tear up. _see_ , this is exactly the reason why he didn't want to come home tonight. he just _knew_ he'd feel even worse about it with his roommate around. it made everything feel more... _real_ to see jeno as his civilian self, crying over something that happened as his anti-hero persona.

jaemin has an internal battle with himself. _do i comfort him? is it better to leave him alone?_ he doesn't know what to do. if he left jeno alone, not only could he give him privacy, but he'd also give _himself_ ample time to think. but then again... if he were in jeno's situation ~~which he'd put him in~~ , he'd want someone to hold him and tell him nice things that made him feel better.

yeah. okay, _yeah_. that's just it then.

he was here as _na jaemin_ , not spidey. he was here as jeno's kind, sweet, and slightly annoying roommate, he was there to console jeno, give him advice. this could give him a chance to say what he couldn't as spidey. jaemin, with a newfound resolution, walks over to jeno's door and knocks.

jeno opens the door a few minutes later, a little confused, eyes red and puffy, but he _smiles_ at jaemin nonetheless, and oh how jaemin's heart clenches.

"i thought you wouldn't be home until tomorrow? i didn't hear you come in." jeno says, voice hoarse.

jaemin smiles tight-lipped at him, getting the strongest urge to spill his guts out to jeno but he manages to control himself. "renjun kicked me out. said i was too annoying." he shrugs. it was a flimsy excuse but it _was_ kind of true.

his roommate lets out a little laugh, shoulders shaking. "i don't know renjun, but i like him already." jaemin punches his shoulder light-heartedly, jeno laughs even more. "oh, did you need anything from me, by the way?"

jaemin stills. "uh... right. are you—" he clears his throat, "i heard you crying in your room and i was wondering if—"

"i'm okay!" jeno exclaims, cutting jaemin off. "i mean... not exactly okay because i was crying but—" his shoulders slump.

"... but?"

"i was just... watching a sad movie." jeno finishes lamely.

jaemin raises an eyebrow. _is that movie your life or mine?_ he wanted to ask, instead he said, "you suck at lying." _real smooth, nana._

he watches as jeno's mouth opens and closes, watches as he frowns and watches as he shifts through a thousand different expressions, and finally ends up with pursed lips and furrowed eyebrows. "fine, i was lying, but _please_ don't ask me why i really cried, okay?" he pleads, sounding defeated. "please, jaem?"

jaemin swears he feels his heart breaking as he hears that tone in jeno's voice. _you've really done it this time jaemin. you've actually hurt him._ biting the inside of his cheek, jaemin thinks about how he should respond. _i'm here to cheer him up, to make him smile again._ he arrives at a conclusion. _when, and_ only _when, jeno feels better, that's when_ i _would._

he musters up the brightest smile he can possibly give and directs it at jeno. "alright," and he sees jeno visibly relax, "but only if we watch a movie together."

 

* * *

 

this was nice.

they were currently on jeno's bed, watching the 2017 remake of _it_ on his laptop. they sat next to each other with barely any space between them because jeno's bed wasn't big enough. blanket draped over him and head resting on jeno's shoulder, jaemin was falling asleep despite the number of jumpscares that happened onscreen.

jeno looks at jaemin through the dark laptop screen as pennywise the clown retreats back into his well. _he looks so peaceful..._ he thinks, and a voice in his head replies with, _why didn't you fall in love with him instead?_ damn it. the voices were back.

 _i missed you_ , he remarks sarcastically. _my head was finally quiet without you. it was nice while it lasted_.

 _i had some matters to attend to. meanwhile, you got yourself busted by your little spider and now your roommate's practically snoring on your shoulder_ , the voice quips, _how the hell d'you do_ that _?_

jeno almost sighs out loud before remembering that jaemin was asleep. he settles for rolling his eyes instead. _maximum effort. and what do you mean you had some matters to attend to? you're literally just a voice in my head._

_that's what you think._

jeno frowns. _what's that supposed to mean?_ and it's weird but it's almost like he can _see_ the voice make a face. what the fuck.

 _nothing. this conversation is going nowhere, go back to staring at lover boy._ and just like that, jeno feels like the voice was gone again.

jeno doesn't notice but jaemin wakes up and blinks at the movie, the credits now starting to roll.

"did i miss the whole movie?" he asks groggily and jeno almost jumps out of his skin. "fuck, you scared me!"

jaemin flinches. "oh, sorry."

"no no, it's fine..." jeno quickly says apologetically, waving his hand. "but uh, you missed like half the movie, i think. what do you last remember? we can rewind back to that part if you want—" he continues, already reaching for his laptop.

"no, it's alright!" jaemin interrupts, hand reaching for jeno's hand to stop him. and so they sat there, holding each other's hand like a pair of idiots.

well _that_ wasn't how jeno expected the rest of his night— now morning— to go.

he thought he'd just fall asleep crying, very emotional over spider-man, probably having a nightmare about how he'd rejected him, but then jaemin came home and everything turned around.

jaemin retracts his hand from jeno's, keeping it close to his chest. "s-sorry, i didn't mean to do that."

jeno looks down at his hand. he already missed the warmth. _i wish you did._

"i'm sorry, jen." jaemin apologizes again, and jeno looks up to tell him that it was okay, that he liked holding his hand, but jaemin continues talking.

"i'm sorry i fell asleep on you. i was supposed to cheer you up. i even asked you to watch a movie with me and it's—" he checks his watch, " _2 in the morning_ now." he frowns, tracing the cats on jeno's blanket, "i've ruined your night even more, haven't i?"

jeno hesitates before slowly taking jaemin's hand in his and leaning back on the headboard. he stares ahead, stares at _anything_ but jaemin, and he tries to keep his voice steady. "you made my night better, nana."

out of the corner of his eye, he sees a smile creep onto jaemin's face. "i'm glad you think that, jen." and he tightens his grip.

after a few seconds, they turn to each other at the same time, both of them ready to say something, but they catch each other's eyes and burst out laughing. they laugh for a good minute and wipe the tears that formed, fingers intertwined, ghosts of smiles on their faces.

it felt special. unbeknownst to them, they'd both be keeping that moment in their hearts forever.

then jeno yawns and the moment is ruined.

jaemin laughs gently, his shoulder bumping jeno's, and jeno laughs with him, thumb rubbing circles into the back of jaemin's hand. maybe the moment wasn't ruined after all.

after he composes himself, jaemin closes the laptop and takes it, reaching over jeno to put it on his bare bedside table, never letting go of his hand once. "you should get some sleep, jen."

jeno rubs his eyes with his free hand. "yeah, you should too."

his roommate bites his lip and gives jeno's hand a little squeeze before letting go. "i should—" he jerks a thumb behind him and starts to slip out of jeno's bed, but jeno grabs his hand back before he could do so.

jaemin blinks at him, then at his hand, then back at him, but jeno doesn't say anything, just— just sits there holding jaemin's hand. "... do you want me to stay...?" jaemin asks tentatively.

jeno's cheeks burn red. _why am i so embarrassing_. "yes, please."

the silence rings in their ears before jaemin settles himself back in jeno's bed. draping the blanket over himself, then draping his _arm_ over jeno, he lies down and snuggles himself into jeno's side, sighing contentedly.

"what're you doing?" jeno asks, his heart racing.

"going to sleep, what does it look like i'm doing?" jaemin answers.

jeno mulls over it for a second then he shifts so he's lying down on his back, jaemin's arm resting on his chest, their intertwined hands stuck between their bodies.

he honestly couldn't believe this was real.

he was _heartbroken_ , his world had _stopped_ after spidey's rejection, but jaemin came in like a fucking angel with that _smile_ that could easily give light to a thousand earths, and here _they_ were now.

un- _fucking_ -believable. jaemin made his world turn again, spun it like a top along with jeno's head. jeno's head was spinning, and all the while jaemin's lying right next to him, dozing off, their hands _still_ intertwined.

it was another one of those moments for jeno again. where everything seemed surreal, where he was thankful his life had cut into someone else's at such a wonderful part, _jaemin's_ life to be exact. but it was more like jaemin cut into his, and jeno's even more thankful.

his thoughts are cut off by jaemin's snoring, and jeno looks at his sleeping face for the second time that night.

jeno feels happiness bubbling up inside him despite not being able to say good night, he feels like he could stare at jaemin for hours. he looks at jaemin's long eyelashes, his button nose, his delicate, pink lips.

... his lips. the lips that looked exactly like—

jeno wasn't going to think about that anymore, not after jaemin's attempt to cheer him up. he would only think of jaemin. he can worry about the _thing_ in the morning— or, later in the morning, since it was like, 3 am.

jeno sighs. _sleep, jen. sleep._ the voice returns, but this time, it sounds like... like jaemin. he welcomes the voice and in return, it soothes him.

jeno thinks about how much he likes jaemin's voice, how deep it is, how it sounds, and when he falls asleep, the last thought on his mind is how jaemin's voice sounded incredibly familiar.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also hey i've drawn self indulgent fanart for my own fucking fic (this one) so if you want that then [here](https://78.media.tumblr.com/93c3fde895648cef8003c6ef9e73c8d0/tumblr_pcpnvmc1sl1schiino1_1280.jpg) you go uwu (my blog on tumblr is svtnct-kr ^^)  
> i also want you guys to know that i read every single comment and usually end up crying about it :') i appreciate your comments so much even though i don't reply jdfhsdhkj please know that


	7. day 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you have unlocked: _[jeno's dark past]_ congratulations!  
>  also, jaemin's messing up more and more as the chapters progress. is this slow burn?

jeno wakes up earlier than jaemin does. the moment he opens his eyes, he's met with the most breathtakingly beautiful sight. jeno takes a sharp inhale.

he holds his breath, waiting, eyes roaming on jaemin's face, wanting to prove that he's _real,_ he's _here,_ that this isn't a dream because it goddamn looks like one, so his hand reaches out to touch him, to twist a tuft of jaemin's soft hair between his fingers, but his hand is held back.

oh, _right_.

they held hands last night. scratch that, they were _still_ holding hands.

jeno carefully brings their hands up closer to his face, holding jaemin's hand with everything he's got, making sure not to let go, because _this?_ this was the closest he could ever get to having what he dreamed of having with _spidey_.

but that doesn't mean jaemin was just serving as a substitute in that dream, _oh no,_ what he dreamed of having with spidey, slowly became what he wanted with _jaemin_.

jeno can't lie, so he won't, he sees so much of spidey in jaemin, _too much_ and it's almost uncanny. that 0.01% in him that believed jaemin was secretly spider-man grew into 49%, only 1% short from being _half_ sure about spidey's secret identity. but that whole theory jeno had wasn't the reason why _he_ grew to like jaemin.

what caught his attention first was jaemin's face, bluntly speaking, how could it not? all gentle features, bright eyes, an even brighter smile— especially now in jeno's view, the sun shone on jaemin and it hit him in all the right places. jeno thought it made jaemin look _golden_.

golden. as jaemin's looks were golden, his heart was too. within the past 2 weeks, jeno's seen who jaemin was. he always cooked for him, kept the house clean when jeno sometimes couldn't and he wouldn't even get angry. he made jeno laugh, and made their new home feel like _home_.

jeno now _loved_ coming home. he's never felt that before.

before jaemin, home didn't have any good meaning. home was... suffering, abuse, tears, loneliness, dark nights, a hungry stomach. it was just— plain _sad_ , in all sense of the word.

jeno didn't have a good family. what he _had_ was a mother that didn't love him, and a father that sold him to a bunch of _"underground scientists"_ that experimented on his then 13-year-old body. hence, the powers he had now.

he first realized he had an unbelievable healing factor when the bruises he would get, from his father, from the bullies in school, disappeared faster. any broken bones he might've had, any cuts he got, they would heal in a matter of minutes, and for the first time, jeno felt _powerful_.

at 14 he joined the karate club to protect himself. his absence of fear for getting hurt allowed him to learn faster, take more risks, and by 15, jeno felt invincible.

deep down though, he felt that his broken heart was the one place his healing factor couldn't reach. 2 years might've changed him a lot, but it hadn't done the same for his parents. so he ran away.

at first he wanted to hurt them, make them feel like how they made _him_ feel but... he couldn't do it. doing that would make him less of a human being, it would put him at their level. so jeno packed up and left "home" one night, leaving his life behind in the process.

living his new life on the streets was completely different. jeno was homeless until a bunch of mercenaries took him in. they called themselves _new culture_ , and they aimed to wipe vile human beings out from the world.

they were misunderstood, to say the least.

they believed, and jeno believed, that what they were doing was _good,_ that they were doing a service for the community by killing evil people off. be it businessmen, government officials, _anyone_. if their name was on a gold card, it was lights out for them.

jeno really believed he would stay with them forever, believed they would live in the new world, the new _culture_ they would create after murdering the scum of the earth, but at 16, jeno changed his mind.

it wasn't that he realized how cruel their business was, no, he still believed they were doing the right thing. but 16 was when _spider-man_ became known as a hero in their city.

whoever new culture might've targeted, spider-man would save them before they could be killed. he saved even the _most disgusting_ of criminals, opting to send them to jail, to rehab, _anything_ to give them a second chance at a good life. new culture might've been frustrated at this new _red, spandex ass wearing bug freak_ that got in the way of their business, but jeno was _fascinated_.

so, once again, he left. told new culture he would try to live a normal life, and swore to secrecy about them (because they threatened to kill him if he didn't.) so then at 16 and a half, he had his own suit that he modeled after spidey's, and had created a reputation for himself, albeit not a good one because he didn't know how to... beat baddies up without killing them, but he wanted to learn.

and then a year ago, at 17, jeno worked up the guts to talk to spider-man.

spidey was apprehensive of him at first, hearing how _deadpool_ was an infamous mercenary. he had half a mind to web him up and send him to the police, but then jeno started talking, and miraculously, spidey had ended up giving him a chance.

the same year he starts teaming up with spidey, he enrolls himself back into school with the money he made from being in new culture. sure, he's missed a lot, it was a living nightmare to be back in a classroom, but he managed. he _had_ to survive it. _for spidey_.

and here he was now, 18 years old and staring at his roommate's face, his fingers intertwined with his even as he slept.

jeno has come far. after all that darkness in his young life, spidey gave him a new sense of hope, shone a light and led jeno to it. then having jaemin in his life now was like having the fucking _sun_ live with him.

jaemin made him understand what home was, finally made him know what it felt like to _want_ to come home.

home was... warm, cooked meals and soft, newly laundered blankets. it was doing the dishes, and watching tv with legs propped up on the coffee table. it was laughing so hard in the morning that milk would shoot out his nose. it was comforting smiles, touches, words.

... home to jeno became jaemin.

in a matter of 2 and a half weeks, jaemin gave to him what his family couldn't, what new culture couldn't, in a span of _16 years_. and in a matter of 2 and a half weeks, jeno slowly, but _surely_ , learns to love jaemin.

his dream for spidey becomes one for spidey _and_ jaemin, and jeno kinda feels like he's cheating for some reason, but... nothing was official, so it was okay for him to feel that way.

jeno snaps back to the present. life update: his hand is _still_ in jaemin's, _his_ arm's _still_ on jeno's chest, and they're _still_ laying next to each other. _nice_.

he looks at the arm draped over him and smiles. it's like they really hadn't moved in their sleep. they were still in the exact same positions they went to sleep in a few hours ago. jeno watches jaemin's arm rise up and down along with his chest as he breathed.

the sunlight shifts and catches on something jaemin's wearing on his wrist. _it's a weird looking metal bracelet_ , jeno thinks, he didn't notice them before in the dark, but in the light of day they're hard to miss. one part of the bracelet, a thin strip of metal with a small, circular pad at the end, curves onto jaemin's palm. jeno reaches up to touch it but—

 

* * *

 

jaemin's eyes shoot open.

webshooter. _my webshooter!_

he snatches his arm away from jeno's hand before he presses the pad on his palm, which would shoot out a web, which would _ruin jaemin's life_.

in a blink of an eye, jaemin's standing at the end of jeno's bed with his hands behind his back, trying to act like nothing's wrong. he smiles innocently at jeno, who's frowning and looking up at him in confusion.

"good morning jen!" jaemin exclaims, trying his best not to sound inconspicuous, "do you— uh... want pancakes for—"

"what the hell, nana?" jeno interrupts, sitting up in bed.

jaemin gulps. "hm?"

jeno stares at him for a few seconds, and jaemin stares back. _jesus, jaemin, how could you be so stupid?_

jaemin hopes, _prays_ to some higher being, _any_ divine being out there that's listening, for jeno _not_ to ask about what just happened. which he already kind of did. but whatever, jaemin's not answering any questions he might have anyways.

his roommate blinks and sighs, evidently giving up at trying to make jaemin explain himself. "yes, nana, i _do_ want pancakes for breakfast."

jaemin inwardly sighs with relief and gives jeno a tight-lipped smile. "pancakes, coming right up!" and with that he rushes out his room, leaving jeno alone on his bed.

once he gets there, jaemin rests his hands on the kitchen counter and looks down on his webshooter. he takes a deep breath to calm himself down. _that was too close_.

with one press of a button, everything jaemin has tried so hard to hide would've been exposed out in the open, and he's never felt more scared than before, not even when facing some criminal, or a thug with a knife. jeno finding out the truth before jaemin gets to tell him himself seemed more terrifying than fighting even the worst villain.

jaemin sighs and prepares to make pancakes for breakfast. _thank god for my spidey sense._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S NANA'S BIRTHDAY TOMORROW I'M SO FUCKING EXCITED SCREAM WITH ME IF YOU ARE TOO AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
> also! the reason why it takes a week for me to update is because of school and like... i don't plan what happens in the story??? i just kinda make it up as i write so...... yeah this is a mess, the Disaster Fic of 2018


	8. day 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [gives you a sad jaemin] _ooh!_  
>  [throws in a relieved jeno] _ahh!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: i actually wrote half of this chapter 2 days after the last update, but then school happened and i got busy, and here we are now, 2 weeks later with a shitty update i'm so sorry

"wait, so let me get this straight." renjun says, setting his cup of tea down.

that saturday morning, after cooking for jeno, jaemin texted renjun, fingers flying over his keypad as he typed, _can i come over again? please injunnie it's urgent._ so there they were now, sitting on the floor, their backs against renjun's bed, with a cup of coffee for jaemin, and tea for renjun. literally.

"you give him advice and tell him to go for it, but the moment he asks you out, you reject him?" renjun frowns. "how did you manage to leave that kind of information out when you came over last night?"

"i didn't think he would do it! i just— i was trying to play a role, okay? i had to be a supportive roommate." jaemin defends himself. "and it... it slipped my mind yesterday so i didn't get to tell you."

renjun sighs into his cup before taking another sip. "you're digging yourself deeper, nana. did you two even get to talk about it last night? why he was crying?"

jaemin blinks. "he told me straight up not to ask about it and..." he scratches his neck. "i didn't want to pry. besides i already knew why so—"

"didn't want to pry or didn't want to see how much you've broken his heart?" renjun cuts off.

jaemin chews on his lip, eyes cast downward. "... god, injun, when you put it that way—"

"in what way?"

"... like..." jaemin sighs exasperatedly before muttering lowly. "like it's the absolute truth."

renjun sips on his tea. "mhm. keep going, i like being told that i'm right."

jaemin pouts. "you were right about telling me to leave. thanks, i guess."

renjun raises an eyebrow. "you _guess?_ "

"my apologies, let me correct myself." and jaemin clears his throat exaggeratedly. "thank you, oh great one! i offer you my life in honor of your wisdom. i will—"

"okay, don't get overdramatic," renjun says, waving a hand, "but i appreciate the sentiment."

jaemin laughs a little before reverting back to his regretful state, renjun catches it.

"nana..." he begins slowly, "you can't be afraid to face the consequences of what you've done. you can't let fear drive you away from doing what's right."

jaemin turns to renjun. "but injunnie—"

"would spider-man let fear get the best of him?" renjun asks. it renders jaemin silent.

"would he?" he asks again.

"... he wouldn't." jaemin answers quietly.

"so why are you?" and the question makes jaemin _snap._

"because i'm jaemin!" he yells. "i'm not— i'm not spider-man 24/7, okay? jaemin isn't brave, jaemin isn't confident and cool and a _fucking_ superhero— jaemin... i'm _just_ _jaemin_ , injunnie." his voice cracks and grows softer. "and i'm scared. i'm so fucking scared because no matter what i do, it ends up being the wrong decision and i'm scared of making more mistakes."

jaemin takes a deep breath in and breathes out shakily. "i'm scared i'm going to lose him, renjun, and i'll only have myself to blame."

"are you even listening to yourself?" renjun scoffs, starting to grow frustrated. "you're not going to lose him, not if you do something about it and stop running away from the truth." and he takes another sip of his chamomile to calm himself down.

"make it right, nana. or at least try, because _you're_ what makes spider-man, not the other way around. saying you're not him is probably the dumbest thing i've ever heard you say. you're spidey and _more._ " renjun finishes, conviction set in his voice.

a beat passes. the silence is _deafening._ jaemin's got a whirlwind of thoughts in his head, yet he doesn't feel like he's thinking at all.

a few minutes pass and jaemin finally moves to drink his coffee.  "so," he gulps, trying to ease the lump in his throat away, "what do i do now?"

renjun sighs and shakes his head gently. "no, nana..." he takes jaemin's hand in his and looks deep into his eyes, "you have to decide that for yourself. i already told you what you _had_ to do, now you have to figure out _how_ you're gonna do it."

jaemin sits silently, and renjun waits for him to respond.

_okay. okay. okay, na jaemin. you're okay._

"... jaemin?"

"hm?"

"are you okay? what're you thinking?"

"... i'm okay, injunnie."

 

* * *

 

jeno watches spidey waiting for him on the daily bugle's building rooftop. 

in the middle of the day, spidey had texted his burner phone telling him to come to the daily bugle instead of their usual spot that night and he didn't explain why. jaemin had already left earlier, so jeno was free to scream in the apartment.

jeno dreaded to see spider-man again after the night before. so he stood a few feet away from him like a creep, not knowing what to say, feeling like coming there that night was a mistake. he was just about to turn and walk away before he heard spidey's voice.

"you just gonna stand there the whole night, or are you gonna sit down and enjoy the view with me?"

jeno stills. "how long did you know i was here?"

he hears spidey laugh a little before answering, "since you arrived." then he looks over his shoulder at jeno. "are you sitting down or what?"

awkwardly, jeno moves to squat down next to the hero, and he feels spidey scoot closer. his heart beats faster. god, he's so nervous, he's _sweating in his suit_ despite the cool air.

"my roommate works part time at the daily bugle." he blurts out. _fuck. why'd i say that?_ he wonders.

jeno looks at spidey to check if he was weirded out, only to see spidey already looking back at him. his heart jumps and it actually kind of hurts. _the things you're doing to me, webs. you don't even know it._

"you have a roommate, jen?" spidey asks, a hint of amusement in his voice, and once again, jeno doesn't know why.

he tries to ignore spidey calling him _jen_ again and focuses on the question asked instead. "yeah, i do. his name's j—" _wait, can i say his name?_

"you don't have to tell me his name, but do talk about him if you want to." spidey says, like he was reading his mind. he then rolls his mask up over his nose, and _smiles_ encouragingly at him. "go ahead."

jeno gapes at spidey's lips for a few seconds ( _familiar, familiar, familiar_ ) before deciding to tell him about the past few weeks as his roommate's roommate. how well he cooked, how funny he was (at times), how sweet he was to him. jeno suddenly realizes how funny this whole situation is, because he's talked about spidey to jaemin before, and now he was talking about _jaemin_ to _spidey._

oh, how the tables have turned.

jeno doesn't realize how much he's talked, how much he's loosened up, until spidey's watch alarms, signaling that it's time to start the patrol.

spidey flashes an apologetic smile before turning the alarm off. "sorry we don't have all night to talk about your _wonderful_ roommate, jen." and that makes jeno flush.

"you're just saying that because i said that he reminded me of you." jeno laughs.

spidey reaches up to roll his mask back down, but he pauses, and gives jeno one last mischievous grin. "that being said, are you sure you didn't mean to ask _him_ out instead of me?" that earns him a slap on the arm from jeno.

"webs!" he yells, embarrassed, and jeno watches spidey roar out in laughter.

"sorry, sorry..." spidey says, calming himself down, and rolls his mask over his chin. "alright, let's... pft—" then he starts laughing again.

jeno's heart starts to feel warm at the sight, and he realizes he had nothing to worry about. _everything's alright._ he laughs along with spidey before patting him on the back. "okay, okay, wrap it up, webs, we have lives to save."

spider-man takes a deep breath and pretends to wipe a tear away. "alright, sorry, we can start the patrol now." and jeno sees that he still has a very evident smile on his face underneath the mask. jeno tries to show him that he's smiling through the mask too.

"okay, webs."

 

* * *

  

"so you listened to him talk about you to _you_ for an hour?" renjun asks over the phone.

jaemin looks over at jeno, who's passed out on the couch once again. "yeah, i figured it would ease the tension or something."

"mhm." and jaemin swears he can _hear and see_ renjun smiling teasingly at him. "you thought talking about you would help jeno calm down?"

jaemin flushes. "it sounds so narcissistic now that i think about it."

renjun laughs. "i never knew you had that in you, nana!"

"oh, shut up."


	9. day 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the universe cheers, all the heralds and angels sing, any higher beings out there exchange divine coins because the day has fucking _come._  
>  _the day where jeno and jaemin figure things out._  
>  (who did you bet would start the end of this story first? most of the higher beings bet on jeno.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fucking fact: i finished writing this chapter a week ago while i was away from home, but when i got home, we didn't have any internet and that lasted the whole week so here we are!  
> also this is actually the last chapter before the epilogue! don't expect it to be serious though because this fic started as a crackhead and it will end as one thankyouverymuch

the next couple of days feel different for jaemin and jeno, and spider-man and deadpool.

between jaemin and jeno, there are more lingering touches, more "accidental" glances, more smiles exchanged, more nights spent together in the same bed.

neither of them want to say how much they enjoy how different the past few days are.

between spider-man and deadpool, there is more laughter, more playful banter, more teasing, more ease and comfort and warmth.

between them, there is _more, more, more._ but only one of them feels right about it.

jaemin knows what he's doing wrong, what he has to do. jeno knows what he wants to say, what he _needs_ to confess. but neither of them know how to go about it.

both of them are idiots, and _fate_ _itself_ is tired of them, it's had its fun.

so you know what fate says?

 _fuck it_.

 

* * *

 

jeno really feels like he's hitting it off with spidey now.

not that he wasn't before but... romance wise, you know? it's different these days.

the other day, he swears spidey actually stills in the middle of their conversation and stares at jeno's lips as he talks. he swears he was leaning in closer, he _swears_ he was going to kiss him. but jeno stares at him with his head tilted, like he didn't know what was going on. then it dawns on him and he questions why he didn't lean in too.

then the night after that, spidey holds his hand. jeno doesn't let go, but a small part of him wants to.

then the night _after_ that, spidey holds his face in his hands. jeno doesn't even remember what the context behind it was, or what happened before _and_ after it, but he knows it happened, and he wishes he could forget it did.

then the night _after after_ that night, spidey holds him a little tighter and a little closer as he swings them from one building to another. jeno still feels the ghost of his touch around his waist, and he hopes it moves on to the afterlife and gets lost.

the past nights with spidey have been absolute paradise for jeno. or for the _old_ jeno, rather.

every time jeno comes home from those patrols, he feels guilt instead of giddiness, because as soon as he gets home, he's greeted with a smile.

and then he remembers the past nights with jaemin too.

the night spidey almost kisses him, jaemin kisses him on the cheek good night.

the night spidey holds his hand, jaemin holds his hand and presses it against his chest because he said he couldn't sleep, and jeno falls asleep to the steady beat of jaemin's heart.

the night spidey holds his face in his hands, jaemin cups his chin and his thumb brushes his lips, because jeno still had crumbs from the pop tart they shared as a midnight snack.

and the night spidey holds his waist, jaemin serves as the big spoon in bed. that night jeno has a hard time sleeping _and_ breathing, because jaemin wrapped his arms around jeno's chest and held him _way_ too tight for his own comfort, but... _whatever made him sleep well that night_ , jeno thinks.

the jeno now doesn't want to say it but...

the past nights, the past _days_ with jaemin have been absolute paradise for him, and he feels that it's the truth.

all the weeks spent with spidey and jaemin, constantly escalating, leaving jeno breathless with his mind and heart racing— jeno honestly felt like he was cheating on them both.

but the jeno now knows what he wants, knows _who_ he wants.

he's finally got his head on straight, all his organs feel like they're in perfect working order. he's breathing, he's alive, he's okay, he's got it _all figured the fuck out_ —

except for one thing.

and that thing is spidey's true identity.

jeno wants to move on, he feels like he already can with jaemin by his side, but how can he move on from someone he's never even... _met_ , in a way.

the old jeno wanted to know who spidey was because he was in love with him, but the jeno _now_ wants to know who spidey is so he can move on from him.

for _closure,_ you know? to end anything having to do with wanting to be closer to spidey, because his secret identity holds him back and makes him want to stay, because he wants to know who the guy behind that mask is, wants to know _who_ he fell in love with, wants to put a name to all those unanswered wishes and faceless fantasies so he can stuff all of them in the _trash_ and focus on the present.

he wants to know so he can _move on_ and be happy with jaemin. he doesn't even care if spidey's been returning all the affection he's given in the past, doesn't care if he seems interested now, because all he has in his head is _jaemin, jaemin, jaemin._

he guesses it's good that spidey's reciprocating, but the kind of affection jeno has for him now is _platonic_. the night they meet on the daily bugle's rooftop, jeno starts to feel different. sure, he and spidey talked, everything seemed okay, seemed resolved, but it was because he talked about _jaemin,_ and that's saying something.

talk about character development.

jeno's going to find out who spidey is, and nothing's going to stop him. the voices would be proud, wherever they were.

 

* * *

 

that morning, jaemin wakes up feeling weird.

he feels like something was going to happen today, something _big._ and he really isn't sure if that's a good thing or not.

the morning starts off pretty normal besides that weird twist in jaemin's gut.

jeno's gone off to his morning classes, and jaemin's left mulling around their apartment looking for things to do, like normal.

he scrubs the toilet, dusts the shelves, takes the laundry to a laundromat, all the while feeling like something's coming.

lunch comes and still nothing's happened, so jaemin starts to think maybe it was just something bad he had last night on the patrol with jeno, but jaemin rarely ever feels sick anymore, so maybe that isn't it.

 _maybe it's my spidey sense,_ he thinks.

after lunch, jaemin goes to his classes and catches jeno before he leaves his, which was the first time it ever happened.

they give each other surprised looks, and jaemin thinks, _maybe this is that something,_ but the feeling in his gut is says otherwise.

jaemin wonders if jeno has that feeling too, but he isn't even acting weird today. if anything, he seems more confident, more assured, more sure of himself, and jaemin's stuck feeling so small, like he's constantly caught off guard, _anything_ and _everything_ but confident.

the whole afternoon, jaemin feels like he and jeno switched personalities.

a tiny sliver of ease comes when the bell rings and jaemin gets to change into his suit, but as he's walking to his usual changing spot behind the dumpsters in an alley, that ease disappears and is replaced with a wave of dread.

now it scares him.

jaemin doesn't even think it's his spidey sense anymore. he thinks it's something more, like the universe trying to give him a sign or some cheesy shit he usually wouldn't _want_ to believe in because _science_ , but this weird gut feeling is scaring him past all his usual principles and making him believe that there's something at work, a higher being, or _whatever_ , he doesn't know.

he's so out of it that by the time he gets to the daily bugle's rooftop, he's sure he's shaved a few years off his lifespan because of how many times he nearly crashes into a building, or swings too low over the street.

jaemin doesn't know what to think because when he gets there, jeno's already waiting for him.

jaemin isn't even thinking anymore when he walks up to him and says, "you're here early."

he's just so desperate to get this feeling out of his system, and he figured that maybe it has something to do with jeno. his weird feelings _always_ have something to do with jeno.

jeno doesn't even jump like he usually does whenever jaemin sneaks up on him, instead he looks at him with a small smile growing on his face, and jaemin sees that he isn't wearing his mask again.

great. jeno has his eye smile on full display today, and it makes jaemin think even less rationally than he already is, if he even _is_ thinking.

jeno gets up from the edge of the building and walks over to jaemin. "i wanted to ask you something, webs."

jaemin gulps. _there it is._ the feeling in his gut is unbearable now.

he watches as jeno stands before him, fidgeting in place. his body language screams _nervous_ but his face screams _determined_. jaemin ~~highkey~~ lowkey wants to run away, but he stays rooted to the spot.

the anti-hero takes a deep breath, and jaemin holds his. "will you ever tell me who you are?" he asks.

jaemin lets go of the breath he was holding. _this is it. tell him!_ he thinks, but before he can open his mouth, jeno starts rambling.

"i know i said i would respect your decision to not tell me but... we've been together for a year, webs! not _together_ together but... we're a team, you know? i've mended your wounds, you used to try and mend mine until you found out i could heal— that's not the point but—" jeno inhales sharply, "the point is—" his voice cracks, and suddenly panicked gay jeno returns.

"the point is... is 12 months not enough for you to trust me with your identity?" he asks, something desperate starting to shine through. "again, i'm not forcing you to tell me now— it's just a question, but—" he pauses, and mumbles, "i really didn't think this through. all i know is that i wanted to ask you."

jeno ducks his head and jaemin thinks all his confidence has slipped off now. maybe he can finally regain his.

"... were you ever planning to tell me, webs?" jeno says under his breath, more to himself than directed at jaemin.

_i was. believe me, i was. i want to. i'm sorry._

"please. i need to move on." and that's it. jeno's vulnerable, and jaemin feels the knot in his stomach untangle.

_there's the sign, clear as day._

jaemin knows he shouldn't have waited for that kind of vulnerability to come from jeno, but there was something about what he said, the way he said it, combined with jaemin's gut feeling, that makes him think that the universe and everything unseen is _screaming_ at him now.

the past few weeks of him trying to tell jeno that he lo— _likes_ him too both as spidey and jaemin has lead up to this moment. he still doesn't feel like what he did was enough but— the moment came, didn't it? _truth_ finally came and slapped him in the face to try and get him to rear its ugly head.

jaemin would be damned if he didn't listen. he wasn't gonna put this off anymore. he wasn't going to be an _idiot_ anymore because _look_ at what the sight in front of him was.

_clear as fucking day._

the hero takes off his mask and lets it drop to the floor. it catches jeno's eyes, and jaemin sees him stiffen.

"look at me, jen." he says.

and jeno does.

 

* * *

 

the next few minutes pass in a blur of emotions, yells, tears, and crazed laughter.

all coming from jeno.

what are you supposed to think when the two people you've been having problems with for the past weeks, past _year_ , are actually _one fucking guy?_

this is it. jeno's gone insane. he can't stop laughing.

or crying.

... or screaming.

 _the piece of shit_ doesn't even bat an eye as jeno yells into the void.

or the sky. let jeno be dramatic.

"i can't fucking believe you!" he exclaims, pushing jaemin away from him.

"i didn't want to trouble you." jaemin starts. jeno gives him a look, and he cuts himself off.

"didn't want to trouble me...?" jeno asks incredulously. "jaemin you've done _everything but that!_ " then he makes a face, and turns, walking away from jaemin all the while mumbling to himself.

"it fucks me up that i'm saying your name while talking to you in your _spidey suit_." he looks back at him and gestures wildly at... all of jaemin. "your _spidey suit!_ you're _spider-man!_ "

jaemin's done it now. he fucked up.

one would think it'd be a momentous, and _glorious_ occasion where they'd both be emotional and united in their mutual feelings for one another, where they'd just put aside all the misunderstanding and hidden truth, but this is real life. not a fucking story.

but it _is_ emotional, alright. not just the kind of _emotional_ you would expect.

"do you have _any_ idea how much you've _fucked_ my head up, nana? _do you?_ because you've fucked it up _a lot._ " jeno frowns. "a year with you as spider-man, plus a month with you as jaemin, and you couldn't find the time or find it in you to _tell me_ you were spider-man _or_ jaemin?"

jaemin tries to calm him down. "jen—"

"don't _jen_ me!" jeno yells. his breathing is ragged and the corner of his eyes are starting to prickle with tears again. "why couldn't you just tell me, nana? why go through all this trouble and hurt me in the fucking process?"

jeno takes a deep breath and continues, slowly, sounding like how he truly feels about everything happening at that moment. sounding _sad_. "you could've told me anytime. the moment you even thought about telling me, you could've. you could've even told me this afternoon when we saw each other after my classes."

"so why didn't you, jaemin?" he finishes, and jaemin takes that as his cue.

he inhales shakily and starts. "i'm not going to pretend like i have a good enough explanation for what i've done, because i _don't_. you know what i was doing, jen? i was being a coward, and i'm sorry i was. i don't even know what i was so afraid of. being here now, standing before you with my mask off, everything seems stupid now."

"because it _is_ stupid." jeno corrects.

jaemin laughs bitterly before continuing. "yeah it is. i was just— i was so afraid of hurting you, you know? and i've done exactly that. i thought i was protecting you by keeping my identity hidden, i thought if i gave you enough hints, you'd find out eventually and that way it'd be less dangerous, like i wasn't broadcasting who i was to the world by not explicitly telling you firsthand."

he takes a deep breath. "but a part of me knew that was wrong, that it would be more troublesome, that that was stupid because you could protect yourself just fine." jaemin visibly deflates. "looks like that part of me was right. i should've listened to it."

"i was scared it was going to build up, and it did. i was scared it was going to mess your head up even more, and it did. it started out with me worrying about your mental health and then somewhere along the way, i started to be scared of every single decision i was making. but most of all, i was scared— i'm _still_ scared i'm going to lose you. and now i am."

jeno stays silent for a few seconds, then he lets out a snort. "you're even more of an idiot than i think you already are if you think you're going to lose me after all the trouble you put me through."

jaemin gapes at jeno. "so you're not leaving me or anything? you're not regretting your feelings for me?"

"who says i'm not?" jeno asks, and jaemin pouts. "... jaemin i'm just kidding."

the hero sighs. "i would understand even if you weren't. you didn't deserve to go through everything i made you. i'm sorry jeno."

jeno rolls his eyes and finally moves from his spot. he moves closer to jaemin and decides to be the confident gay in their relationship because he's _so fucking done with him,_ so he cups his face with his hands and squishes his cheeks. "jaemin? listen to me."

"you're not going to lose me. i'm staying, okay? i forgive you, and i'm not going anywhere. i'm not going to be the uncle ben in your origin story." jeno says.

he watches as jaemin registers the words in his head. "... who's uncle ben?"

jeno gives him an exasperated sigh. "that's all you got from what i just told you?"

jaemin shakes his head as much as he can between jeno's hands. "no, okay, i'm sorry, i got it. i understand. but seriously, who's uncle ben?"

"you're unbelievable, nana." jeno deadpans.

"... can i call you uncle jen?" jaemin grins.

"i regret loving you." comes the reply.

and it shuts both jaemin _and_ jeno up.

jeno sees the stupid grin on jaemin's face growing and feels his face burning, feels him turning into a blushing mess, and before he can say anything, jaemin cups jeno's cheeks too and gives him a fond look.

"i love you too, jeno."

then jaemin closes the gap between them.


	10. day ???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jeno and jaemin are now one of those cheesy, successful couples you see online, but they're happy and that's all that matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chap is neomu short but we going airplane emoji the end

the story cuts in just as our friendly neighborhood spider-man and the merc with a mouth have dinner on the rooftop of a building that overlooks the city. dinner meaning, a couple of warm burritos and ice cold sodas.

there isn't a proper end to this story, just like how life _never_ had a definite end. it just keeps going, and things lead to things, and those things lead to other things.

the moment this story cut into lead to _this_ exact moment. it goes full circle, but god forbid jeno and jaemin go through all of the trouble again.

as they sit watching the city, their hands intertwine. there now lays a sense of satisfaction, a comforting feeling of content. days, months, have passed since everything was laid bare, since the truth was left said. and they're... they're okay now. everything seems to be, because it _is_.

a warm feeling settles deep in their chests. no, it's not because of the burritos, but because of everything happening at that exact moment. scratch that, maybe the burritos _are_ a part of that.

jeno and jaemin revel in the love they receive. not just from each other, but from their city.

as they sit watching the city, happy sighs escape their lips, because the city appreciates what they do, it appreciates what they love doing _together._ the city has never been safer. their relationship has never been more secure.

happiness.

the number of times they've felt their hearts soar is uncountable. the feeling is pure bliss, pure _happiness._

their hearts soar when jeno gets good marks on a test he's been studying all day and night for, he celebrates, and jaemin celebrates with him. their hearts soar when the city acknowledges their efforts, when its citizens cheer for them, balloons colored red, black, and blue rising up into the sky.

their hearts soar when they're cuddled up in their shared bed, whispering dumb jokes, making each other laugh, jabbing fingers into sides good-naturedly. jeno's heart soars when he pauses and looks around at all his spider-man posters up on the wall, blending with newspaper clippings of their achievements, and pictures jaemin's framed.

jaemin's heart soars when he catches jeno in that exact moment.

the realization hits them at separate times, but it still hits them nonetheless. they've come far. they've come far _together_. they've laughed, cried, fought, _together_. it's grown to be them against the world. they are _untouchable_.

na jaemin, lee jeno. spider-man, deadpool— there isn't a border anymore. they now go seamlessly through their two lives, switching, changing, as different as it can be, but they do it together, and that's the one thing that stays constant.

no matter who they might have to be at that moment, one thing will always stay the same, and that's them, the love they share, the smiles they exchange, and it leads back to this moment.

when they finish eating, jaemin cleans up and jeno gets ready for the patrol, but as he checks the time, he sees they still have a few minutes left for themselves.

so jeno grins and decides to tackle jaemin in a hug.

"oh christ." jaemin says, probably rolling his eyes, jeno can't see his face, but his hands rise up and wrap themselves around jeno's waist anyways.

jeno nuzzles his nose into jaemin's hair, his smile small as he says, "you know i love you, right?" jaemin pulls away just enough to look at jeno's face, a fond smile playing on his lips. "i know." he replies, and suddenly jeno gets the biggest urge to kiss him.

but just as he cups jaemin's face with his hands, they hear a scream.

he feels jaemin try to pull away, but he holds tight and refuses to let go. jaemin tries to tell him that someone might be in danger, but jeno thinks the moment they're having now is more at risk.

he needs to get his standards checked.

jeno ignores the hero's nagging and lets his eyes roam. he watches the moonlight shine on his newly dyed pink hair, watches the shadows fall on his face.

he leans in close, and feels jaemin lean back. jeno snorts. "race you there." he says, and that's all the warning jaemin gets before jeno jumps down the rooftop in search of the source of the scream.

jaemin blinks at the now empty space in front of him. "what." he deadpans. shortly after, he comes to his senses and races after the anti-hero, yelling, "saving lives isn't a game, jeno!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter really isn't worth a month wait but i'm happy with it :')  
> i've just been so dead and busy lately and i really didn't want this fic to end but oh well :/  
> anyways THANK YOU ALL SO SO MUCH FOR READING MY FIRST FIC all your comments mean so much to be and they played a big part in keeping me motivated to write this fic so really, i owe it all to you for bringing us to this moment :')  
> thank you thank you thank you once again

**Author's Note:**

> we also have my friend with no ao3 account to thank for this au so yell out a thanks dude for her


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